Kaurloto becomes Clemson CIO

Successful technology leaders understand changing behaviors and organizational cultures and create solutions to meet those needs. The lightning fast evolution of technology that we live with today is driven predominantly by the changes in individual, group and organizational behaviors, according to information technology (IT) visionary Russell Kaurloto.

Kaurloto will bring his vision, knowledge and more than 35 years of IT experience to Clemson University as its vice president for information technology and chief information officer (CIO). He was selected as a result of a nationwide search.

Reporting to the executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, he will oversee Clemson’s Computing and Information Technology (CCIT) division and manage the university’s cyber infrastructure, including hardware and software systems that support teaching and learning, research, outreach and business functions.

“Russ rose to the top of a very competitive field of candidates in large part because of his broad experience and success in leading complex information technology organizations, including those in a university setting,” Clemson President James P. Clements said. “I look forward to welcoming Russ as a member of our executive team and to working with him as he builds upon the good work already being done by Clemson’s IT organization.”

“This is an exciting time to be at Clemson,” said Kaurloto. “And I am excited to apply my collective years of experience in what I perceive as a seminal moment and transformational time at Clemson University. Being a part of this moment and the opportunity of joining the formidable senior leadership team is what brought me to Clemson.”

“We are excited to have Russ join our team,” said Robert H. Jones, Clemson’s executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “We’re confident that he will build on the great progress that has been made, and will enhance CCIT’s strategic goals surrounding infrastructure, mission-critical systems, learning technologies, customer support and growth and innovation.”

With a focus on “people, processes and technology,” Kaurloto has made a career out of creating innovative technology solutions in higher education, government, health care and research.

The new vice president comes to Clemson from Los Angeles, where he was the deputy chief information officer and assistant general manager for the city of Los Angeles, the second largest city in the nation. In that position, he oversaw IT support for 35,000 employees across 41 departments in 704 buildings and was responsible for all communications, data and voice networks, systems, systems integration, middleware, application support and operations centers, including all 911 communications infrastructure for the Los Angeles Police and Fire departments.

Before that, Kaurloto spent 16 years heading operations for the IT function at University of Southern California (USC). As executive director and deputy chief information and operations officer, Kaurloto oversaw IT operational services on the USC campus and its 19 schools, the USC Keck Health Sciences campus and the Keck Medical Center. His team supported classroom and educational technologies, information security, computing systems operations, data services, research infrastructure and voice and video communications services. He established a 37,000-square-foot Tier 3 data center housing a top-10 ranked supercomputing center and implemented a campus-wide WiFi deployment resulting in more than 98 percent WiFi coverage.

Before his time at USC, Kaurloto spent 22 years at The Associated Press, the world’s largest news-gathering organization. There, he worked his way up from a field engineer to the Western Region executive director and chief of communication — the youngest IT chief in AP history. Kaurloto led communications, technical operations and IT support services for more than 1,500 newspapers, radio, TV, financial institutions and AP offices across 17 Western states.

Kaurloto is an Oaklyn, New Jersey, native and earned a Bachelor of Science in organizational leadership from California Lutheran University.

An avid runner, Kaurloto is married to a tri-athlete, Susan, and together they have four children. Kaurloto and his wife are active community members and dedicate their time to helping underprivileged children.